Taser (Payday 2)
The Taser is a special enemy in PAYDAY 2. When given the chance, they tase a victim for either a short amount of time or to the point of incapacitation. Tasers share some mechanics with the original game, such as deploying in pairs. Caution is advised, as focusing on one leaves the player defenseless against the other. Behavior One of my favorite operatives - the enemy have few defenses against them. Even the toughest sumbitches dance when they get lit up by these guys. But they're most effective when part of a mixed team providing close fire-support. Without this backup, they're likely to get isolated and downed. We need to drill our teams on squad tactics. Still, I love watching the camera footage of these guys in action.|FBI Files Description.}} Tasers tend to spawn along with a small team of SWAT officers, in-pairs, and occasionally spawn with 2 Blue SWAT officers even on Death Wish. When they get in range of an enemy, they will charge their taser weapon, which has a very audible and high-pitched sound for about a second or so, before their chosen target is shocked. Like all specials, they have their own set of tells or warning signs; the Taser has a low, gruff voice that usually involves electrical terms, like "charging up" or "increasing voltage". The sound of garbled radio chatter usually means a Taser or two is lurking about, as most enemies speak clearly. They have the most distinct voice out of all the police units, so it is very easy to tell them apart. As of Update #183, Tasers' CAR-4 rifles are painted yellow, making them stand out among other units, especially on lower difficulties. These units tend to behave like regular cops, until they get within close range, at which point they will try to tase the player. They signal their taser with a high pitch buzzing noise before firing. When a player is tased, they lose their ability to move or interact with objects and the crew member will convulse, throwing off their aim and occasionally firing their weapon. One should also note that your gun will automatically reload when being tased, and you are still able to fire manually by clicking. The player can use this to their advantage and try to shoot the Taser, freeing themselves. Alternatively, another player can shoot or kill the Taser to end the tasing as well. If the Taser is not interrupted within 10 seconds, the tased player will be incapacitated. A good way to tell apart which Taser is tasing you (or a teammate) among a crowd of them is to keep an eye out for the blue flashes that will constantly emit from an active unit. Should a player come upon a group of Tasers with an ally being tased, the Taser will leave the initial player and attack the new target. Strategy Tasers should be taken on from a distance, and quickly, so that they do not have time to charge their taser. Their body armor is strong, but a few shots to the head should kill them quickly. While spraying a Taser with bullets can be a good idea, Tasers often move to the side after taking some damage, so move your aim quickly to keep filling them with lead. Another way to kill Tasers without risking being incapacitated is to charge them. If they do tase you, it is much easier to kill them at close range when being tased due to the firearm and bullet spray being easier to control. Any skills that provide bonuses to hip fire accuracy for the weapon you are wielding become very useful here, extending the range at which you can potentially kill the Taser while you are being shocked. Remember though, a wider spread will increase your chances of hitting a close-range target. Be careful if there are other enemies nearby who might interfere. As of Update #24, being tased now causes your aim to flail about wildly, making it very difficult to shoot a Taser unless you are within only a few meters of him. If you get tased and run out of ammo, mark the Taser so your teammates can help free you. Heisters with auto-fire weaponry should take note that their weapon will discharge in rapid-fire bursts, resulting in an even harder to control aim, as well as a greater loss of ammo than if they were holding a single fire weapon. If possible, one should consider switching to single-shot mode if they hear the telltale charging if caught out in the open. Be very wary of nearby Tasers when handling hostages or converting a law enforcer. Upon being electrocuted, the victim will continuously spray bullets with almost no control, which can lead to severe consequences. The cops accompanying the Taser should also be a priority due to their high firepower. It will make your rescue easier if you get tased. Cloakers may occasionally cooperate with Tasers to take down a stunned player, so be cautious of your surroundings if both enemies have been spotted on the field. The Basic version of the Shockproof skill from the Technician tree skill will knock the Taser back after a random amount of time of being tased (about 1-3 seconds), but is generally considered to be unreliable, and the Ace version is recommended if the player intends to obtain the skill at all. With Aced Shockproof, one can shock the Taser back by facing the Taser and pressing the Use key (default "F") while being tased; conveniently, this input is similar to marking the Taser, which should be second nature for a player already. When a taser is in the process of shocking a target, they cast blue or cyan flashes of light onto their surroundings. These can serve as a very useful visual cue to the Taser's location, particularly when fighting in dark areas or on night maps (such as Day 2 of Watchdogs). As being shocked by a Taser instantly reloads your equipped weapon, players using high capacity weapons with lengthy reloads (such as Light Machine Guns, the Vulcan Minigun, or individually-loaded shotguns) can allow themselves to be tased intentionally for an instant combat reload. This obviously risky maneuver should only be attempted if absolutely necessary, but the ability to circumvent a 5-10 second reload in an emergency should not be underestimated. Requesting cover from a teammate, ensuring the Taser is alone, and engaging at extreme close range to guarantee stunning or killing the Taser with your spasmodic gunfire will all increase your chances of success. Players with Aced Shockproof can abuse this mechanic with relative impunity, as they can reliably break free of the stun almost immediately. After being electrified for an extended period of time by a lone taser, the player will eventually silently go down without the opportunity to enter bleedout (similar to being kicked by a Cloaker). However, if a taser catches you vulnerable around a large group of enemies, they will often down you quicker than a taser will, especially on higher difficulties, affording you the opportunity to use Pistol Messiah or be instantly revived by the Feign Death skill. Quotes Achievements Trivia *Like in the first PAYDAY, the tasing attack of the Tasers are capable of overriding the operation of a player's currently equipped weapon, meaning shotguns will pump on their own, and sniper rifles will continue to fire off semi-automatically until the magazine is depleted, despite the fact that there is no free hand to pull the bolt to chamber a new round. A player being shocked while reloading will also have their weapon fully topped so as to give them a reasonable fighting chance and potentially allowing them to free themselves if they can manage to stagger or outright kill the Taser unit. *The Taser is the only humanoid special unit to have his full head visible to the players. Catching one in an explosion will more often than not blow off his helmet, revealing a stubbled brunette man with blue eyes. **Strangely enough, a helmless Taser still retains his electronically-distorted voice. *Upon closer inspection, the helmet of a Taser is simply a recolored version of the Yellow SWAT's, with an additional tactical light mounted on the right side. **Additionally, the uniform of Tasers in PAYDAY 2 are largely the same as the ones worn by the Cloakers, albeit with a black and blue paint scheme along with indicative yellow stripes instead of camouflage. **Their rifles are additionally marked with bright yellow parts, which is incorrect protocol in reality, as the color yellow is usually indicative of dedicated weaponry loaded with less-lethal munitions used to non-fatally supress an aggressor, while the CAR-4 wielded by the Taser is fully capable of lethal harm. *Due to their extended shock time, the Taser units are likely armed with the civilian model of their signature weapon. A standard police taser would only produce a 5-second stun. **It is unclear how and where a Taser tases a player, as the darts they fire seem to cause spasms just by the virtue of touching the heisters alone, even from angles where it is physically impossible for the darts to make any sort of meaningful physical contact. In reality, a taser's darts must make contact with an assailant's skin, either directly or through thin clothing such as shirts and pants to cause incapacitation. ***As a heister's armor does not cover his/her entire body, it could be justified that the Taser shocks them by deliberately aiming for the exposed areas. This is debunked by the Shockproof skill, however, as the reflecting animation shows the player pulling the darts out from their chest, where their armor should be thickest. This animation has been removed in a subsequent patch however. *The Taser is the only recurring special unit type to not have an April Fools "joke" upgrade alongside the Sniper. *The Taser is voiced by veteran anime voice actor Spike Spencer . * Tasers may somehow react to being shouted at and may attempt to sidestep away from the player's crosshair when one tries to do so. **Tasers, due to a very rare bug prior to the Christmas 2013 update, were susceptible to domination attempts. They could not be converted. This was patched when GO Bank was released. *The Taser's "Just call me Elec-Man!" and "I am the FUCKING SPARKMAN!" ''quotes are references to the series of video games. *The quote ''"Say goodnight McMurphy" is a reference to the film . *If one is playing as Bodhi, upon scoring a headshot with the Platypus 70 sniper rifle, the Taser's head will quite literally explode, with his face missing usually, or even half of his entire head gone, and leaving a rather gory mess, similar to Jiro and his signature melee, the Shinsakuto Katana, which is used to decapitate or bisect Cloakers. *If playing as Wolf, one can hear him babble uncontrollably when tased by a Taser and spotting a Taser while being tased. Gallery 2014-11-18 00022.jpg|A Taser esqGuI2.png|Taser With Visor On and Off 20160419010347 1.jpg|Russian Taser 20181102135050 1.jpg|A Taser with his head blown off. BKpIihRl.jpg|ZEAL Taser in promotional material. Newtaser.png|The new reskinned Taser, added in U183. Zealtaser.png|Zeal Taser. Tasergun.PNG|The Taser's custom-painted CAR-4. ru:Тайзер (PAYDAY 2) Category:Special enemies (Payday 2)